There’s a great scene in the class Steve Martin movie “The Jerk” where his character leaps with joy shouting, “The new phonebooks are here, the new phonebooks are here!”

I feel a little like that since receiving my advance copy of James Newman and Iain Simons’ "Difficult Questions About Videogames"

The book offers 969 responses from 71 contributors to 13 maddeningly direct questions about videogames. For example, the question that opens the tome is, “What is a videogame?” The answers always seem obvious until you actually try to articulate an answer.

I haven’t yet plowed through the book in the detail it deserves. But my first pass through shows that the project lives up to its promise, colliding a wide variety of contributors offering a delicious collection of answers. Although packaged in an attractive square-bound package, the book has all the electric random energy of the blogsphere, ideas bouncing and shooting about.

Part of my interest in this book is selfish. I am one of the 71 contributors. So, there is a certain amount of cringing that goes on when reading my responses butted up against others who have simply done of better job of nailing the answer. But I suspect that anyone will enjoy how the ideas pile on each other, how they reflect and magnify, conflict and contrast each other.

And the responses range from the sublime to the humorously poignant. To wit:

What is a videogame?

“A videogame is a means by which we learn to control the 21st century. By playing, we situate and understand ourselves as citizens of hyperactive electronic space.” – Justin Hall

Why do you play videogames?
“To explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before. I’m not kidding.” – Ernest Adams

And along the way, by casting so many different rays at the object of inquiry, you start to feel like you have a better perspective on the subject under consideration.

The contributors range from gamers and academics to game developers and wags. I’m happy to see such familiar faces as Bogost, Consalvo, Falstein, Frasca, Juul and Spector on the contributor’s list as well as a bunch of new names As you would expect, reading through the book, you find yourself mentally scoring the answers, wishing you could ask for a rebuttal or clarification and wondering what someone whose name is missing from the lit of contributors might have said.

Public Beta has promised that this is simply a version 1 of an ongoing project. Add I hope that’s the case. I’m ready to buy version 2, just to see what other people have to say about the same topic. In fact, my only criticism at this point is one unavoidable with a project such as this—give me more!

The book should be available for order in the coming weeks on the Public Beta site. For those fortunate enough to live near their home base in the U.K., Public Beta is sponsoring a series of public events. Check their Website for book and event information.